Stumbling Block

October 21, 1990|By Steven H. Shanok.

CHICAGO — Queen Noor of Jordan complains of the American attitude toward her husband, King Hussein, to whom she euphemistically refers as a ``bridge between East and West in the search for peace.`` In reality, King Hussein straddles that bridge for the sole purpose of his own survival.

King Hussein, as proxy for Saddam Hussein, continues to insist that any peaceful settlement of the Persian Gulf crisis include a resolution of the Palestinian problem. Ironically, it is King Hussein himself who can solve the Palestinian problem with one swift move: abdication.

Consequently, the population, which is overwhelmingly Palestinian, would be able to restore 78 percent of the original British mandate as ``Palestine`` and finally create its own homeland.